Downingtown native Dave Days making his mark on YouTube with the help of Miley Cyrus

There was no way recording artist Dave Days (known as David Colditz during his days growing up in Downingtown), could know what getting sick on a school field trip would lead to.

Days started producing music videos on YouTube in 2007, during his junior year at Downingtown East High School. A year later, an illness on a trip with his classmates forced him to stay indoors at a Disney resort. During his convalescence, Days’ entertainment options were primarily limited to Disney offerings, and while listening to Disney Radio, he was inspired by some Miley Cyrus tracks.

“I heard some of her songs, and thought it would be funny to do a parody, singing about how I liked Hannah Montana,” Days said.

Days bought a cardboard cutout of Cyrus online, to appear with him in the video, “Miley Cyrus, I Can’t Wait to See You.”

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“People got hooked on me liking Miley, so I did a few more,” Days said.

Uploaded on Aug. 6, 2008, Days’ version of Cyrus’ “7 Things” blew up. Today it has more than 28 million views.

“Eventually, Disney came to me and said Miley had a movie coming out, and asked if I could do a song and she could be in the video,” said Days, who moved to Los Angeles after graduating in 2009.

Days wrote “My Last Song for Miley” and sent it to Disney. When the call of approval came, he was told she would meet him at a hotel the next weekend for filming.

“We did it, and everyone freaked out that I finally met Miley,” Days said.

For Days, it was a validation of a career path that he took some shots for prior to moving to LA.

“Back home everyone was about what college I’d go to or what kind of job I’d get, and a lot of people looked at me weird because I was doing videos on YouTube,” Days said.

He found out quickly that LA was different.

“Being from Downingtown, the first time I went to LA, I was blown away,” Days said. “Everybody there is doing something in entertainment, so it’s a very exciting place. It’s a different world and really creative, and I really like it.”

While chastised by some, Days still had a core group of supporters during his high school years, including friend Chris Carter.

“I’d call him up and say, ‘Hey, man, can you help me with this video?” Days said. “He’d help film them and would be in them, too, as a recurring character.”

Days was a member of Laidout, a band made up of schoolmates that played sporadic small gigs on weekends. When Days decided to go the YouTube route during his junior year, it took off.

“It started blowing up, and I was getting millions of views,” Days said. “Then I started getting money for it through a partnership program, because they put ads on everything.”

Days’ career has expanded since his move westward. He has been a part of two national tours with fellow YouTube artists, and with new management in place, is currently working on his first full-length CD.

With the help of some friends, Days’ videos typically take one day to shoot, and he edits everything on his computer. Days does the vocals, and plays guitar, piano and drums.

With 2013 under way, Days has his sights set high.

“I want to grow my audience online and offline, put out my album, make an acoustic album and just put out a lot of great content,” Days said. “I’d like to be on tour, maybe have a song on the radio and just take everything to the next level.”

While Days and Cyrus are now linked forever, he hopes to have another female in his future.

“I’m going to chase after another girl,” Days said. “This time, I’m going to let the fans decide who it is.”